Would You Admit To Using A Thesaurus? Embarrassing, Right?

WORDS Posted: April 15, 2019 1:01 pm

To be looking for bigger or better words is thought to be pretentious. But why? Isn’t it better to be able to communicate with more precision? – The Outline

Spinning Shakespeare topically

In today’s Wall Street Journal I review a PBS webcast of Kenny Leon’s 2019 Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing. Here’s an excerpt. * * * PBS continues to present plays and musicals on TV and streaming video that were originally telecast on its “Great Performances” anthology series—wonderful... Read more

Source: About Last Night Published on: 2020-08-07
Replay: Picasso at work in 1949

Pablo Picasso paints for the camera in 1949 in a scene from Visit to Picasso, directed by Paul Haesaert: (This is the latest in a series of arts- and history-related videos that appear in this space each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) Continue reading Replay: Picasso at work in 1949 at About Last... Read more

Source: About Last Night Published on: 2020-08-07
Almanac: G.K. Chesterton on puritanism

“A puritan is a person who pours righteous indignation into the wrong things.” G.K. Chesterton, interview, New York Times (November 21, 1930) Continue reading Almanac: G.K. Chesterton on puritanism at About Last Night.... Read more

Source: About Last Night Published on: 2020-08-07
Salort-Pons’ Response: Detroit Institute’s Director Tussles with Anonymous Detractors

Showing a courage and candor that’s been in short supply among museum officials who are navigating the choppy waters of racial tensions, political unrest and economic difficulty, Salvador Salort-Pons, director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, has publicly engaged with the issues raised in a Change.org petition calling for his... Read more

Source: CultureGrrl Published on: 2020-08-06
Almanac: George Santayana on music

“Music is essentially useless, as life is.” George Santayana, The Life of Reason Continue reading Almanac: George Santayana on music at About Last Night.... Read more

Source: About Last Night Published on: 2020-08-06
Snapshot: Duke Ellington performs “Afro-Bossa” in Baghdad

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra perform Ellington’s “Afro-Bossa” at a 1965 concert in Baghdad: (This is the latest in a series of arts- and history-related videos that appear in this space each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) Continue reading Snapshot: Duke Ellington performs “Afro-Bossa” in Baghdad at About Last Night.... Read more

Source: About Last Night Published on: 2020-08-05
Almanac: Marcel Duchamp on the Manhattan skyline

“Its beauty comes from the fact that nothing you see was built before 1900.” Marcel Duchamp (quoted in Virgil Thomson, Virgil Thomson) Continue reading Almanac: Marcel Duchamp on the Manhattan skyline at About Last Night.... Read more

Source: About Last Night Published on: 2020-08-05
Lookback: on various things I wish I could do and be

From 2004: I’m not funny, and wish I were. Witty, yes, sometimes, and I’m pretty good at making an audience laugh when lecturing (a situation in which the prevailing standards are admittedly fairly low). But plain old drop-dead funny? Absolutely not. The only time I ever brought down a house... Read more

Source: About Last Night Published on: 2020-08-04
Almanac: Virgil Thomson on artists and money

“I have never known an artist of any kind who didn’t do better work when he got properly paid for it.” Virgil Thomson, The State of Music Continue reading Almanac: Virgil Thomson on artists and money at About Last Night.... Read more

Source: About Last Night Published on: 2020-08-04
As If We Didn’t Have Enough Trouble

Last evening this is what showed up in our neck of the words. Luckily it did not touch down.... Read more

Source: Straight|Up Published on: 2020-08-03
Just because: Charles Coburn appears on What’s My Line?

Charles Coburn appears as the mystery guest on What’s My Line? John Daly is the host and the panelists are Steve Allen, Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, and Dorothy Kilgallen. This episode was originally telecast by CBS on August 2, 1953: (This is the latest in a series of arts- and history-related... Read more

Source: About Last Night Published on: 2020-08-03
Almanac: Virgil Thomson on journalists

“Journalists are plentiful everywhere and entertaining too, full of jokes and stories. Only their jokes are not very funny and their stories not quite true. Their information is always incomplete, because nobody tells them the truth about anything.” Virgil Thomson, The State of Music Continue reading Almanac: Virgil Thomson on journalists... Read more

Source: About Last Night Published on: 2020-08-03